America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 320, Section 318: Superheroes in Action

"This song, isn't this the theme song from Inception? Cobb and his team used this song as a wake-up signal."

As Nicole Kidman's character Edith Piaf sang passionately on the big screen, many viewers noticed something special.

"Yes, now that you mention it, I realize it too. No wonder Inception used this song; it turns out it's because Nicole Kidman starred in two movies at the same time."

"Wow! Her acting is really good. She is heroic and proud in Inception, and tragic in La Vie en Rose, which makes people feel sorry for her."

"Look at her expression, like a frightened sparrow; she's afraid of everything."

"La Vie en Rose" is playing on the big screen. As an award-contending film, Eric is doing his best to pave the way for Nicole.

We invited all the media and film critics we could, so that everyone could enjoy this masterpiece together.

The film presents Piaf's life, from her youth to her death, including both the good and the bad.

Having grown up amidst the war, and with her mother being a street singer who had no time to care for her, little Piaf nearly died of illness.

She never experienced maternal love and hated her mother.

But at the age of 17, she had a child with a newspaper deliveryman in a daze, and then she wandered the streets singing like her mother, which led to the death of her 2-year-old child.

Later, she met a benefactor who discovered her singing talent and helped her rise to the top of the music scene.

Then Piaf got carried away, started acting like a diva, and began to indulge herself, even falling out with important people.

Extremely starved for love, she didn't know how to pursue it, and she fell in love with a married man with three children.

Although she knew the relationship would not work out, Piaf was still deeply in love with it and couldn't extricate herself.

Ultimately, because he missed her so much, the man wanted to fly to her side overnight, but he died in a plane crash.

This blow completely shattered Piaf's spirit; she began to hallucinate and became mentally unstable.

As if things weren't going to go wrong, he was involved in two car accidents during this period, suffering a double blow to his physical and mental health.

He developed all sorts of bad habits, including alcoholism, drug addiction, and drug abuse.

But in contrast to Piaf's tragic life, her artistic career reached its peak at this time.

Like Van Gogh and Beethoven, many artists are like this: they cannot live without being obsessed, and they can only reach the pinnacle of art when they are on the verge of collapse.

Until the very last moment of her life, the timeless classic song "I Have No Regrets" came to her.

On the stage of the Olympia Grand Theatre, Piaf delivered the most spectacular performance of her life.

Not long after, the French chanson queen passed away at the young age of 47.

When he died, he weighed only 71 pounds, or about 65 kilograms.

To prepare for filming "La Vie en Rose," Nicole Kidman specifically learned French and practiced singing French chansons, putting in a great deal of effort.

The songs in the movie, whenever they involve stage performances, all use her original voice, not film recordings.

This is exactly the same as Joaquin Phoenix, who is currently filming "Bohemian Rhapsody"; both of them are giving it their all.

Ron Howard also devoted a great deal of energy to the project, and Eric gave him all the power, trusting in the bigwig's ability to control the biographical art film.

Holding Nicole's hand tightly, Eric was deeply moved as he watched her break down in despair and scream because of Marcel's death. His eyes welled up with tears.

Looking at Nicole again, tears were already streaming down her face, her mind already back to the emotions she felt during the filming.

"Honey, is my makeup ruined?" Nicole asked softly.

"No, you're absolutely gorgeous, darling!"

"Hmph, I feel a tightness in my chest. Maybe it's like what Piaf wrote in her diary: just go after love and forget everything else!"

It was clear that she suddenly became very emotional, and seemed to want to hug and kiss him passionately.

To be honest, Eric wanted to do it too, but he had to restrain himself; reason told him that doing so would lead to an explosion.

Feeling her hand being held tighter, Nicole realized she was overly emotional and quickly wiped away her tears.

"Baby, I'll love you properly when we get home."

"Um."

Finally, the two-hour-plus film came to a close with the Queen of Chanson singing.

As the lights came on, everyone present stood up and applauded, and many people's eyes were even a little red.

Eric and Nico hugged, and at that moment no one would suspect anything.

He shook hands with Ron Howard again: "Howard, you have created a magnificent work of art."

The 50-year-old man smiled and nodded: "This is the result of our joint efforts. You provided an excellent script, Nicole contributed a wonderful performance, and everyone was perfect."

Many film critics and reporters gathered around.

"OMG! Nicole, you amazed me today. It was perfect, absolutely perfect, especially that four-minute-long take."

"Your emotional shift was amazing, absolutely revolutionary! I love it, I love it so much!"

"Thanks, Joe!"

"That's my favorite part too. That long take is heartbreaking. I've seen many biopics of Piaf, but without a doubt, 'La Vie en Rose' is the best one."

"Howard, you old man, you've pulled out another amazing movie! It almost made me cry. Look, look, are your eyes red yet?"

"Uh, I don't think so. You're too easily moved to tears."

"Haha. But I was really touched, and you also showed Piaf's flaws and neurotic behavior, which is great. I like this kind of objective expression."

Lang Howard pointed at Eric: "The best screenwriter in Hollywood is standing in front of you right now. Theoretically, this should be considered his work. I can't even find many things that can be changed."

Eric waved his hand: "Without a good director, even the best script is useless, isn't it?"

As an art film, and an art film aiming for awards, "La Vie en Rose" was destined not to be screened on a large scale.

With only over 500 cinemas showing the film, the box office for the first three days of the weekend wasn't particularly high, since art films are actually more suitable for watching at home.

However, art films have an advantage that commercial films cannot match: their screening time is much longer, lasting until the end of the Oscars ceremony.

If it wins a major award, the screening will instantly expand to the entire United States and continue for about another month.

Of course, if you don't win an award, you'll have to slink away, and you might even get cursed and insulted by the cinema owner behind your back.

The screening of "Napoleon" was not very large. Unlike "La Vie en Rose," which was universally praised, its reputation was highly polarized. Those who liked it thought it was fantastic, while those who disliked it thought it was too boring and too strange.

As a campus youth film, this situation generally does not occur, because the film abandons the commonly used campus youth protagonists.

The protagonist is a boring, dull, and untalented man, just like most people in reality, but unlike most movie protagonists.

The male protagonist's solo dance will later be incorporated into the game world by World of Warcraft, becoming the prototype for the male blood elf's dance.

Eric doesn't know how much "Napoleon the Magnificent" will gross, but with its current box office of over 1300 million, it has clearly been a success, considering its budget was only $40.

Scratch-off lottery tickets can sometimes really win you a big prize.

Monday, Los Angeles.

The Christmas holidays are not over yet. Some families are used to eating breakfast while watching TV, while others eat first and then watch TV.

Since there are relatively few entertainment programs in the morning, the father usually controls the remote control to watch the morning news and such.

After finishing a news report, presenter Emma Debbie suddenly took the script handed to her from the side.

Seeing this, experienced people would know that a major emergency had occurred, and they would involuntarily focus their attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a news briefing. We have just received a report from the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office."

"Police Chief Grillster has held an emergency press conference and announced an urgent message. Let's turn our attention to the scene."

The camera then switched to show a middle-aged man with a serious expression; anyone who follows the local news would recognize him.

Dressed in a police uniform, the man shouted, "I'm Los Angeles Police Chief Greer Strange. Danger has arisen again, and we're looking for you!"

"Los Angeles needs you, New York needs you, the whole of America needs you. A girl in danger needs your help."

"Show your courage, superheroes, and bring hope and light to all of America!"

"Hurry up and show yourself, superhero!"

Looking at the police chief on TV spouting strange words, those who didn't know better were completely bewildered. What was this? Had I time-traveled?

But soon someone helped them find the answer.

"Dad, didn't you know? This is a charity dream-fulfilling event."

"A little boy under 5 years old was born with leukemia. His parents were worried that he would not make it, and they hoped to grant him one wish."

"That kid named Wendy wants to be a superhero. The Dream Come True organization recently launched a petition, and I've already joined."

"Huh? What are you talking about, son!" The old father clearly didn't understand.

As he put on his shoes, his son said, "The event is on Century Avenue. You can come and take a look."

Watching his son ride off on his bike and disappear in a flash, the man turned his attention back to the television.

The scene has moved to a house. Upon hearing a knock on the door, the homeowner opens it.

Scandium Scandium

With the sound of metal scraping and colliding, Iron Man walked in. His cool gold and red armor instantly stunned the little boy, who could be clearly seen opening his mouth in surprise.

"Wendy, I heard you want to be a superhero. Now's the time."

"Someone outside is facing difficulties. Put on your protective gear, and let's fight side by side!"

Suddenly the child cried out, as if he had just come to his senses and realized that superheroes really do exist in the world.

He nodded excitedly and, with the help of the staff, put on a small suit of armor.

"Now, let's set off to save the world!"

"GO!"

Century Avenue was now crowded with people on both sides.

The moment Wendy stepped out of the house, cheers erupted.

"Iron Man, say hello to everyone! I am Iron Man!"

"Hi, I am Iron Man!"

Today's armor was made by MGM's best prop makers; it's not just beautiful, it also has some built-in functions.

For example, loudspeakers, dazzling lights, and jet flight.

It can't fly very high, at most a few tens of centimeters off the ground, and the fuel is only enough to sustain flight for a little over a hundred meters, but that's enough.

Next to Century Avenue is Winnie the Pooh Park, which has been leased by MGM.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, two Iron Man figures, one large and one small, rose from the ground, expelling gas from their feet and palms as they flew forward.

After flying for several dozen meters, a little girl who was tied up appeared by the roadside, shouting for help, while Iron Tyrant laughed wildly next to her.

"Come on, Iron Man! You can't defeat me!"

"what!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the robot collapsed amidst the colored beams of light emitted from the two armored vehicles.

The little girl, freed from her restraints, came over and hugged Wendy: "Thank you, Iron Man, you're a true superhero!"

People on both sides of the road applauded, showing great interest and time in playing games with a little boy.

Perhaps it's out of morality and compassion, or perhaps it's because I once had the childhood of superheroes.

As they continued forward, a red skull appeared in the middle of the road, leading a group of henchmen, blocking their path.

"Iron Man, you're not allowed to pass through here!"

"Wendy, there are so many of them, what should we do?"

"I don't know."

"Let's call for help, let's call for more superheroes, okay?"

"OK!"

"Then shout it out loud with me: Steve, Thor, Natasha!"

As the two shouted, the onlookers joined in.

Suddenly, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Daredevil, and other superheroes jumped out from the crowd and together they defeated the bad guys.

Escorted by a group of superheroes, Wendy arrives at Winnie the Pooh Park.

A stage had been set up overnight, and he was carried onto a high table.

The mayor of Los Angeles came up and handed him a key.

"Iron Man, thank you for your contributions to Los Angeles. I now present you with the keys to the city. You are a truly respectable superhero."

Little Wendy happily held the key above her head, and a round of applause and cheers immediately erupted from below the stage.

"Wendy, remember you are now a superhero. Superheroes are fearless; they dare to face all difficulties and challenges."

"I heard you're sick, but do superheroes get sick?"

"No, absolutely not!"

"That's right. We must bravely face our illness, overcome it, and inspire more people with your story, okay?"

"Yes!"

"To thank you for fighting evil, someone wrote a song and wants to dedicate it to you."

Swish!

The stage curtain suddenly parted to the sides, revealing two rows of more than twenty children standing there.

Little Wendy's eyes widened in surprise: "Missie, Liam, Olivia, Emma."

These children were all Wendy's classmates, and Avril was standing among them.

"Wendy, Iron Man, this song is for you, and for all real-life superheroes!"

(End of this chapter)